REF DESTROYS GAME – BUT ARSENAL STILL IN DRIVING SEAT FOR TOP 4

by .

There’s no other way to analyse the occasion.

Arsenal were the better side for the opening stages of the game.

The referee then gave one of the most ridiculous penalties of the season, refused to check to see if he’s made a mistake.

The referee then goes super bold and sends off Rob Holding after 26 minutes in a ‘I WANT TO DO THIS’ decision of pettiness.

I don’t really have time for the crowd that wants to pretend we weren’t totally fucked over by an overzealous attention-seeking referee.

I don’t have time for those that say we don’t have the dark arts nailed down. Does McTominay do his dirties in a subtle way? Does Harry Kane go in for legbreakers with disguise?  Everyone in the world knows what Mane does every single game, the refs know, but he never pays a price… is it cuteness that gets him off, or his big fat reputation? Why do Arsenal get a red every 75 fouls compared to Burnley’s 973 fouls… is it because Burnley players are just really clever or that refs have a different standard of reffing when it comes to Arsenal who have taken 6% of the red cards in Premier League history. It’s that Arsenal is held to a different standard that doesn’t even itself out over a season.

Arsenal, with a depleted team, wouldn’t have lost that game with 11 players on the pitch yesterday and that is my hot take.

The recriminations in the media are really amusing.

No one wants this young team to make the Top 4 this year.

Gary Neville wants to see Arteta fail because the Spaniard is everything he thought he’d be but wasn’t. The youngest coach in the league shines a light on his biggest career failure.

Arteta did things properly, studied 5 languages, took his coaching badges, studied all over the world, then made his first job a learning experience under the greatest coach on the planet.

Gary pulled in a favor from a clueless billionaire, took a job with a Spanish team, was too ignorant and arrogant to think he needed to master the local dialect, and tanked after 7 games.

There is still a class of pundits and journalists that believe being a snappy pundit or legendary player counts as the leading qualification for being an elite coach in 2022. They are wrong. You need to do the hard work as well as having a knack for communication, a deep understanding of tactics and systems, as well as being able to quickly master the art of media in a CEO-like way.

These naysayers want Conte to win the top 4 race because it reaffirms that failure wasn’t so bad, it keeps the global order in tact, it means their boring views that Conte is always the answer were right.

The ‘Arsenal were green’ story is factually correct. We have a young squad that lacks experience. But we didn’t get fucked by the ref because we didn’t play the game right, we were fucked because the ref didn’t like us and he wanted to be the man. Our inexperience still has us in 5th with two games to go. Our inexperience just saw us beat Chelsea, United, and West Ham. Yesterday wasn’t inexperience, it was a corruption of the beautiful game by officials that are militantly bad at their jobs.

… but for me, if you are going to go to the bowl and lose, that’s the way to do it. Getting cheated. Having the media call you dim. No one giving you the defence you deserve bar your manager.

Now the job is clear, two really fucking boring wins.

No drama.

Make that Spurs result look really pointless.

Newcastle is 14th in the league, they’ve had a pop of form this year, but conceded 10 against Spurs/City. They are safe, they are not that good, we have too much quality for them even if we only have 1 fit defender.

Everton are 16th, they are safe, that squad doesn’t give a shit. We need to avenge what happened earlier in the season.

If we play like we did yesterday, we will win both of those games, and we need to.

Spurs play Burnley on Sunday, that’s no guarantee, especially considering how poor Anotonio Conte is when he has more than 1 game in a week. I’d have more faith on a spirited Burnley performance than I would Everton or Newcastle. Spurs were beaten by them after they hammered City away. So let’s see what happens there.

The chips feel like they are down, but look at the table, we have more points, we are great against middling teams, and the only reason we lost yesterday was because Spurs once again lucked out with a penalty which was their first shot, then a gift of a red card.

I hate Spurs. The refs can do one. We are The Arsenal. Let’s move.

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DUIFG

It’s surely fairly basic to put your best demfemder on their best player , son. Why you would have a shutdown guy on big fat dejan is beyond me .

Pierre

DUIFG
“Up top trossard is a good player ”

I’ve mentioned Trossard before , reminds me of Eden Hazard and is now showing his true potential.

I think that next season he will be up there in goals and assists as his confidence grows.

He is another player who i would prefer to Odegaard as Trossard could become one of the league’s best creative players, especially if Brighton aquire a decent striker.

Terraloon

Graham. Very interesting post. For some while I have wondered why any with an opinion about their team can’t voice any negativity without being called a non supporter or some other insult. For me It sort of reflects society in general where you are pilloried if you dare to not conform with “ their “ view it is always your take on matters that is wrong. When I first started to go to live football I stood on the terraces with my grandfather, a veteran of Woolwich Arsenal , his peers were perhaps some of the most vocal critics of… Read more »

Graham62

Brian Muff

You’re missing my point.

We are Arsenal, with a massive infrastructure and extensive resources at our disposal and yet why does Arteta get us to play in such a negative manner?

My point is based on what Arteta can do given such resources. Do you feel he has the capabilities to maximise our potential? Even if we get top 4, I don’t feel confident in his abilities to move us forward in a progressive manner.

I personally don’t

Pierre

Will just loint out that it is no coincidence that our creativity and goals scored have plummeted since Ozil was frozen out of the squad..

I did warn those who celebrated Arteta’s disrespectful treatment towards ozil that we may live to regret it and we still haven’t replaced him , although if Arteta had the brains to play smith rowe in his favourite position I’m sure things would be different.

Terraloon

Pierre

Save the second yellow the first three fouls by Holding we’re wide and pretty close to the half way line.
Holding had either been instructed to engage Son in such a way or simply was just too aggressive

EdTheREd

I’ve been noticing this for a while, and I’m afraid it’s becoming undeniable fact: you simply cannot have a reasonable conversation with members of Arteta Cult, for I’m struggling to think of other term that would explain such obsession with a guy who’s struggling to get us into Top4 in his third season on the job. They simply do not care about facts, they’re only interested in creating narratives that would suit their agenda. There are no 60 000 fans crazy about Arteta at Emirates, everyone who’s been to the games this season will tell you that. All this internet… Read more »

Graham62

Terraloon So true. What I find really really annoying on here is the fact, and it is a fact, that Pedro has a certain way of dealing with those of us that question Arteta and his own personal opinions on Arteta. Being told you know nothing or, you don’t know the inner workings of the club like me or, I have my contacts within the club etc etc is so disrespectful to so many. I can be forthright and sometimes aggressive and passionate with my own beliefs but our host has this unique ability to patronise and demeanour fans that… Read more »

Habesha Gooner

Top 4 is necessary this season. Sure the ref destroyed that game but there was also naivety on our players. But it doesn’t matter now. We need to win those two games. And I believe we can.

But on the chance that we don’t, then next season becomes pivotal for Arteta’s career. Top 4 is a non negotiable for me next season, whether we get it this season or not. 2 and half years in charge is enough time to demand top 4 as a minimum standard at Arsenal.

Pierre

Terraloon “Save the second yellow the first three fouls by Holding we’re wide and pretty close to the half way line. Holding had either been instructed to engage Son in such a way or simply was just too aggressive” Holding had no choice but to engage Son as in all 3 occasions prior to the red Cedric was engaging the tottenham left wing back… It was tactically naive of Arteta to allow this to happen, as i said previously, Holding could not allow Son to skin him otherwise there would be no cover. Arteta should have told Saka to cover… Read more »

EdTheREd

Graham62 Interesting points there. It did cross my mind that Arteta gets most of his followers from so called Millenials. These are mainly people in their 30s….perhaps they feel it’s their time to run (lead) things? Either way, the unquestionable adoration for the guy who’s not yet achieved Top4 finish is at best puzzling, at worst deeply worrying. I can see these people still sticking by Super Mick even if we don’t get Top4 for next three seasons. Proper Cult Like mentality. All signs are there, I’m afraid. The good news is that most of Arsenal fans in real life… Read more »

Graham62

Pierre

Are you getting paid £6m?

Excellent Pierre.

How’s the golf?

Pierre

I have said before , Odegaard is not a very good striker of a moving ball , tends to get poor contact which to me means poor technique..

Dead balls he is fine .

Pierre

Morning Graham
“How’s the golf?”

Golf’s good thanks, managed to get down to a single figure handicap ….just. 9.5.

Weather’s warming up nicely , could do with a couple of downpours as the course is drying up.

Terraloon

Pierre Arteta should have told Saka to cover the left wing back , leaving cedric to engage Son , whoch would have allowed Holding to remain in position.Or alternately play with wing backs to counter the problem . Interesting because one of the things that stood out like a sore thumb for me was just how lacking in energy Saka appeared. Personally I don’t think Cedric would have done any better against Son but Holding for whatever reason should not have been in the area of the fouls. For whatever reason the midfield players didn’t seem to have a clue… Read more »

Graham62

Pierre

That’s great!

Slightly naive in this respect but what clubs are being used these days? Do you use titanium shafts?

Pierre

There is a fear that we will implode after the tottenham debacle, mainly because we have seen it all too often since Arteta became manager

This is when the manager earns his money , getting the tactics right, selecting the right personnel and making sure the players believe in what they are doing out there.

Personally, i don’t think Newcastle are anything special and if we retain our composure and discipline, we should come away with 3 points…..

Pierre

Terraloon
“Personally I don’t think Cedric would have done any better against Son”

And that’s why Tomiyasu should have been assigned to Son, sorry to say but Arteta cocked it up by allowing Holding to be dragged into positions that he is like a fish out of water.

Pierre

Graham
“Slightly naive in this respect but what clubs are being used these days? Do you use titanium shafts?”

To be honest, i haven’t a clue, that area never really interests me , i just have set of irons i like, titliest.

Up 4 grabs now

I think we missed a trick once Davison got booked for hauling back saka. We should have switched everything down that side knowing that Davison was on a yellow. You know the same thing the spuds did once Holding was booked. That’s the difference between a rookie and someone with a bit of experience. The three easy games we lost before utd Chelsea and west ham are what’s put us in this position At the start of the season we knew the bindippers and city were miles better than everyone else, and Chelsea looked a step lower than them. everyone… Read more »

Pierre

Terraloon
“Interesting because one of the things that stood out like a sore thumb for me was just how lacking in energy Saka appeared.”

And yet he played the full 90 minutes, so obviously the manager thought he was fit enough..

If we have learnt anything about saka it is to not doubt him as he will make you eat your words.
He doesn’t have fitness issues and has a quick recovery rate from knocks..

Spanishdave

Good comments about Arteta and the personal attacks on posters if we dare to question him.
I feel that he over manages the team he constantly shouts out throughout the game.
This puts doubt in their minds and it lowers their confidence.
Our squad looks best when the tempo is high , but Arteta naturally is crab like and defensive.
Forth place is about as high as the club will get, as all the other teams have far better managers.

G

‘’ We have a tendency to not show up for some games; way at Everton, home to Brighton, away at Southampton etc.
Yesterday was one of such games.
We lost, deal with it and move in. We still have our fate in our hands.‘’

Actually we did show up and would not have lost that with 11 players.. son should have been sent off on the 11th minute..

Graham62

Every manager has his own persona and mannerisms but Arteta’s are very annoying.
Pointing, gesticulating, shouting, complaining………It pisses me off!
What do our players really think?

I wonder.🤔

G

Dissenter do you think Son deserved to be sent off ..?

Nelson

“new three year deal looks a dumb move.”
————————————————————
We have seen many managers got fired or they want to move to other clubs. I can see Arteta joining either MC or Barca in the future.

Pierre

Imagine losing Guendouzi, Saliba and Eddie at the end of the season for peanuts. They could have been the spine of the side for years to come. And the thing is , we will have to spend up to 150 mil to bring in players of their level . Arteta needs to do a lot of persuading to bring Saliba and Eddie onside after showing no trust in them for the last 2 seasons. Whether they stay or go could be a defining moment in Arteta’s time at the club as he will be remembered more for letting quality young… Read more »

Tee

Lol, Pierre back to attacking Odegaard. Maybe Ozil shouldn’t have failed to score the pen against Bayern then.

Johnson

I wm just suppressed by the negativity of most of the people here so because we loose to spurs that is end of all the effort of both arteta and all the players this season we are still in 4th and spurs are still worst than us this all what the team need now is to focus on Newcastle and Everton not the gibberish most of u ate posting here.

Tee

Pierre, just shut it. 150M to bring players of that level in? Lol. .Whether they stay or go could be a defining moment in Arteta’s time at the club as he will be remembered more for letting quality young players leave the club whilst keeping a liability like Xhaka. Yes, like we will always remember Arsene losing out to other clubs for great players because of peanut. Nkethia and guen won’t influence jackshite defining moment. The only player I’m worried about is saliba. Even at that, the next transfer window is there to alter the scope of the team. Always… Read more »

EdTheREd

SpanishDave I’ve actually accepted Arteta’s coaching style, as well as his three year extension. It is what it is. He likes to send players on the pitch with special instructions he wants them to follow to the letter. ElNeni said as much the other day when he spoke about being able to 100% execute manager’s instructions. Problem is, as the stats clearly shows, once we go behind, player’s are still obliged to follow the original game plan, So when it goes well, it goes really well, but when it goes wrong…. Another thing that concerns me was lack of any… Read more »

Mr Serge

I am still fuming about the loss at spurs but it’s still in our hands
I have to agree though with most of the posters on here not getting CL when we were 4 points clear with 3 games to go is a failure of the club

We should have invested in Jan once we knew auba was going. Hopefully this does not come and bite us on the arse

Beat Newcastle and Everton win tomorrow we will get top 4

EdTheREd

Johnson So what you want people to do? We haven’t just lost another NLD, we’ve lost what could prove to be a crucial NLD for years to come, surely there’s no need to repeat the implications of us or Spuds finishing 4th. And we lost it badly. And people are stooping so low that they’re calling a conspiracy. I honestly thought we’re better than that. There’s a great lesson I’ve learned from American basketball coach, regarding missing shots (or the opportunity in our case) – you don’t get emotional, you give yourself an information, ie. why have I missed it?… Read more »

Samesong

We need to be focused on Newcastle now. A win there will give us a huge boost going into our home game against Everton.

Dissenter

G “ Dissenter do you think Son deserved to be sent off ..?‘ Actually, I answered this question already, if you bothered to read the context of the remarks “ DissenterMay 14, 2022 00:09:12 I don’t understand why English players play like Trappist monks In the course of footballing education in English club academies, Don;t they teach them how to get the attention of the referees?If someone elbows you on the ground, you stay down and hold your head like a bazooka was fired at it. Why didn’t Holding make sure that the referee and VAR reviewed the Son elbow… Read more »

EdTheREd

The thing with Necastle game, even though we should be concentrating only on our performances, Spuds result against Burnley will play heavily on players minds, so that will be the first benchmark, tomorrow at 4pm we should know for certain exactly how many points do we need. The last thing we should do is think that Newcastle would lack motivation, I think it’ll be opposite. Last home game of the season, Live on TV, and Club motivated to see us fail in a quest for Top4. Why? Because with their financial power, they’ll be able to compete for exactly same… Read more »

englandsbest

EdTheREd

So what do we want YOU to do? Stop endlessly going on about ‘implications’ .

Dissenter

You have to wonder why we still never deploy rotational fouling?

Maybe Arteta needs to appoint a specialist rotational fouling assistant coach before that can happen
You’re always asking for trouble when the same player is repeatedly fouling another player in a very clumsy manner without the first 33 minutes, away from home.

Dissenter

englandsbest
Care to explain how the EL is better for us than the CL?

Already setting up the next excuse, o ye high priest of mediocrity?

Akinzo

I am still reeling from the loss to the Spuds. I haven’t been myself since that day but am hoping that the situation can still be salvaged as our position indicates that the top 4 remains ours to lose. Thousands of us here in Nigeria have to put the humongous and monstrous national problems aside to follow Arsenal. The club is our joy and you can only imagine how dreadful and jarred we’ve felt losing to the Spuds. However, as with everything in life, I want to remain positive and hopeful. Its not yet over until its over. Its why,… Read more »

GoonerDave

Son over exaggerated it. Everyone knows this and Son is being praised for it. That is textbook simulation. Trying to make the situation appear differently to the ref. Cheating being rebranded as “shrewd” or “clever”. We had multiple leg breaks and serious injuries because the refs allowed it and deemed us too soft. Now, a player can go down by being lightly touched and suddenly it is a penalty. Players who try to con the ref should be booked for simulation. Still, win our next 2 games and the derby won’t matter. Let’s hope the lads can get it done… Read more »

Terraloon

Gooner Dave
Son over exaggerated it. Everyone knows this and Son is being praised for it. That is textbook simulation. Trying to make the situation appear differently to the ref. Cheating being rebranded as “shrewd” or “clever

See now here’s the thing in the first couple of minutes Eddie dived and in truth should have been given a yellow. There wasnt any contact that was a dive yet not even talked about

Akinzo

Thanks to the heavens none here is the manager or CEO of AFC. The things they say make you want to puke. Some pretend as if they have solutions to all the club’s issues, meanwhile, they are mere empty barrels. Even, Pep, one of the game’s acknowledged best brain doesn’t have everything his way. Even with his renowned man management and war chest has he won the CL? Klopp could not even bring his machine of a team to wallop the bumbling Spuds the other day despite its importance to their PL aspirations. If that was Arteta some people would… Read more »

GoonerDave

Terraloon
If Eddie dived and tried to win a penalty by cheating, he should have been booked too.
It doesn’t change the point though. Cheating is being praised by pundits but it ruins a decent chunk of football matches.
Every time a player goes down because he “felt contact”, he is cheating. Unless there is enough contact to bring a player down, it is simulation.

Terraloon

Gooner

My point was that certain players have reputations but Arsenal players aren’t innocents it comes back to this victim mentality supporters become very blinkered players are players are players.

Gonsterous

If we win the next game I think we can start singing the CL theme song. Cmon you gunners. Make me proud.

Pierre

Gooner Dave
“Terraloon
If Eddie dived and tried to win a penalty by cheating, he should have been booked too.”

The first dive was by the tottenham left back after 10 seconds of the game..
Threw himself to the ground with little or no contact.

Maybe Terraloon should be a little more balanced in his views .

GoonerDave

Terraloon, I never said we were innocent of anything. But I firmly believe there is a lack of consistency among refs and it seems to work against Arsenal more than most.
Pointing out a lack of consistency is not victimhood. You can disagree, but your opinion rejects analysis in favour of hand wave dismissal.
If we fail to make top 4, it will be our fault. But there is nothing wrong with wanting fair, unbiased and consistent refereeing. The standard of officiating in the PL is the weak link. It is truly awful and needs reform.

Pierre

The difference was the ref gave the free kick to Tottenham which was the pattern of the whole game when you think about it

Pierre

Terraloon
“See now here’s the thing in the first couple of minutes Eddie dived and in truth should have been given a yellow. There wasnt any contact that was a dive yet not even talked about”

Why only bring up the Eddie dive when the tottenham left back clearly dived.
Could it possibly be that sky didn’t show a replay of the first incident , which come to think it was the pattern for the whole game in that they only highlighted any indiscretions from Arsenal players and ignored the deliberate elbow by son on Holding.

EdTheRed

Thought Police is very active on this blog. It’s usually a powerful tool of oppression in every totalitarian regime. I’m sure Pedro doesn’t want that. Well, I hope.

On the menu today: “Everyone who thinks we were not cheated by the ref is miserable sod and hates the club.”

Jonko

Jonathan Moss and Paul Tierney always remind me of Phil Dowd…all throughly poor refs who are not fit enough to be close to the action and always buckling under pressure almost as if to please the home crowd…at least Mike Dean seems to have improved on that front

Terraloon

Pierre

The first dive was by the tottenham left back after 10 seconds of the game..
Threw himself to the ground with little or no contact.Maybe Terraloon should be a little more balanced in his views .

You really need to go to Specsavers.

The incident after 13 seconds was a trip on Davies by Nketiah. I have just watched it again pretty clear to everyone including the asst ref who was within 10 feet of it.

Markymark

EdTheSpud – far to.satisfied with defeat . Never on here when we win

Pierre

Terraloon “The incident after 13 seconds was a trip on Davies by Nketiah. I have just watched it again pretty clear to everyone including the asst ref who was within 10 feet of it.” Imposiible to see if there was a trip unless you have a different camera angle as sky didn’t show it from any other angle….probably because it would have shown that he dived. Let’s be honest , He dived , all that was missing was the swimming pool and i would have given him 9.8 for artistic merit.. Surely you being a referee would know that if… Read more »

The Bard

Pierre you’re definitely onto something with this notion that we haven’t been creative since Ozil left. I actually think it goes further back. We have been in decline since Ray Kennedy was sold to Liverpool.

Terraloon

Pierre Imposiible to see if there was a trip unless you have a different camera angle as sky didn’t show it from any other angle….probably because it would have shown that he dived. Hold on a minute ago you said the Spurs player clearly dived and now you are saying it was impossible to see.! Nketiah clipped Davies’ heel from behind. The reason that Sky didn’t show a replay probably because there wasn’t anything controversial in the free kick. A bread and butter decision the reason Nketiahs dive was shown a second time was because it simply was a dive… Read more »

LoveSausage

The Bard,

Please don’t encourage him. Ozil wouldn’t have made any difference. He only played in home games when the sun was out and there was no wind. For a game like this, he would have had “back pain”.

englandsbest

dissenter On the contrary. If anything, I am accused of being over-optimistic about Arsenal under Arteta. Yes, I am preparing the ground for the inevitable dopey onslaught from the anti-arteta brigade if he fails to get a CL spot. Naturally I hope we DO end the season in 4th place rather than 5th. But it’s also true to say – for obvious reasons – that the Club stands a better chance of going further (and perhaps winning) in the Europa than in the CL. The squad is young and will learn by experience, game by game. Does that make sense… Read more »

TR7

Before the game I ( and a few others) suggested that we play 3 at the back. After all even a draw would have more or less sealed top 4 for us. Arteta made no changes in his formation and we were exposed at the back. That ESR gets benched for a pedestrian Odegaard is perhaps the most baffling of all the bad decisions Arteta has made so far in his Arsenal career. Granted he has managed to keep us in the fight for top 4 but with Arteta we never really know what can happen. He makes odd decisions.… Read more »

Pierre

Terraloon “Hold on a minute ago you said the Spurs player clearly dived and now you are saying it was impossible to see.!” Clutching at straws now aren’t you, the dive was as clear as day, and as for clipping his heels from behind , only a close up camera could determine that. My point is , and your recent comments have confirmed it, why do you go to such lengths to prove Arsenal are undeserving of a decision, and yet will blatantly lie to try and prove the opposition deserve a decisuon as per the davies clip of the… Read more »

TR7

By the way that Cedric penalty decision was one of the worst referring decisions this season.

Terraloon

Pierre My point is , and your recent comments have confirmed it, why do you go to such lengths to prove Arsenal are undeserving of a decision, and yet will blatantly lie to try and prove the opposition deserve a decisuon as per the davies clip of the heel Talk about delusional. It’s not a question of trying to prove the opposition deserve a decision it’s all about being realistic and come to that honest when it comes to some that doesn’t go in Arsenals favour where’s it’s abundantly clear you want to see a conspiracy behind every event. No… Read more »

TheLegendaryDB10

Rewatched the Spuds penalty… and well I still don’t get how that was awarded as a penalty. It’s beyond soft. It is pretty clear that Tierney was very eager in giving a pen to Spuds. Regardless of that though I think we would have lost anyway. Holdings defending antics had red written all over them. I am nor sure whether Holding was trying to channel a terrible imitation of an aggressive Viera or whether he stupidly believed he would get away with his constant wrestling of Son. Regardless, it was extremely stupid considering that we were up against 12 men.… Read more »

TR7

Gabriel is another Arsenal who is getting away with really poor performances week after week.

GoonerDave

That was a very soft penalty. It really was. I have to agree that the ref destroyed the game. Every soft penalty has the pundits scrambling for a view that shows “contact”. But nobody asks if there was enough contact to cause the player’s reaction; i.e. was there actually a foul? The justification of these decisions by TV pundits is almost as dishonest as the act itself. And the Premier League is indeed the best league in the world, but the referees are nowhere near good enough. And it does cost us. Not because some shady bribe or conspiracy is… Read more »

Nigel Tufnel

Ernest you are just an angry person. I see haters here- I call them out. It’s not like I went on some kind of rant. You blow stuff out of proportion because that’s how you follow the team. Sad for you. Their are people here that are too negative and bitter. Pedro provides balance, and the haters attack him. Popular gooner accounts on Twitter are all with us. You and the haters are not normal, as Pedro and Johnny point out about the stadium crowds and traveling support. You do not support. You tear down. I give constructive criticism as… Read more »

Nigel Tufnel

Dissenter, we’re not disagreeing much at all. I wasn’t happy with Artetas choices, but I can’t ignore that a game with 50 mil riding on it got turned by a penalty that we never would have received, at home, or away. We all know that. We might get a soft penalty in a game where we already have a lead, and certainly not in am NLD or against any other top team. The first goal for a team like Tottenham that does nothing but play counter football is really more than a 1 goal gift. As soon as the pen… Read more »

Nigel Tufnel

Also I’m not as positive as Pedro about our chances. One error Monday and the pressure becomes immense. If we don’t score early the pressure builds on our players, and could be hell to watch as a fan.

TheLegendaryDB10

Nigel

As professionals, they should be able to turn the page and move on.

But I agree with as it is a young team. I would rather see us score the fist goal as that would galvanise the team.

But my worry is indeed: if we let Newcastle score first, would this impact the team even more??

I really hope not, but they are young and if the pressure does get to them, it may be curtains for our top 4 aspirations.

But right now, I truly believe that we can do it and finish 4th.

LoveSausage

I feel cautiously optimistic. It’s true that our losses this season have come in clusters but I genuinely think that bouncing back after that three game loss streak transformed the team mentality. Literally everyone thought we were dead. And we should have been. But the boys found the belief to bounce back even though they were about to play the chavs, United and the hammers. Beating two shit teams won’t feel impossible.

TheLegendaryDB10

LoveSausage

This is where I agree with you. As long as we stay focused and do not dwell on the loss v Spuds, we can certainly do the job and win against both NU and EVE.

LoveSausage

DB10,

It might actually be a good thing that we have so little time between the games. One way or another, this will be over Ina week so the team doesn’t have the option to let this fester. I think we’ll be fine.

Samesong

FA cup will be always special in my eyes. Look at the atmosphere there.

Ben D

Watching the FA Cup final… Anyone who has ever belittled our FA cup wins should bow your heads on shame… It’s a big ocassion. Even Tuchel and Klop are showing that it matters….

Tom

Terraloon, big ups for the patient approach discussing ref decisions with Pierre….very entertaining too lol.

Holding just stood there minding own business and Son ran into his shoulder, I believe was Pierre’s take on the second yellow card incident ……..that explains what one is up against there.

Dissenter

englandsbest Not so fast You’re trying very hard to whittle down expectations so that you can still declare the EL qualification a resounding success. In that process, you’re unwittingly setting the dregs expectations for this club. How about we qualify for the CL and go as far as we can, butting heads with the best players in the world, measure ourselves against European elite? If we don’t measure up we can still drop down to the EL in the same season. Your acceptance of the lowest measure comes across as the behavior of surrender simians Mind you, we are all… Read more »

Chris

Sensational pass from Alexander-Arnold

Tom

Chelsea on the ropes early

Chris

I’ll always love the FA Cup too. Was fuming when we went out at Forest the way we did. Meek surrender at Southampton the year before too.

Jonko

What a fucking pass.from TAA..for.me he is the second best player in the league after KDB

Dissenter

Nigel
We don’t get enough penalties because we don’t put the referee on the spot enough
We spend more time in our own box than the opposition 18 yard box.

Just watching this FA cup final
Liverpool have been to the Chelsea 18 yard box 9 times in 13 minutes. It they get a penalty, it’s because they made their luck.

Graham62

What was the booing about during the anthem?

Was that Chelski or Liverpool supporters?

Markymark

Bard – we have been in decline since Ray Kennedy was sold ? Cmon man. Titles , Cups The Invisibles and some of the greatest players whoever wore an Arsenal shirt . All post Ray Kennedy

G

Dissenter you been on the crack pipe

Nope, Son did not “deserve” to be sent off because Holding is not sophisticated enough to know how to draw the referee’s attention.

You for real, so because holding doesn’t make a meal of it Son shouldn’t be sent off
Lol.., great logic

Dissenter

G Are you really so naive to think the referee sees everything on the field Are you clueless to think VAR reviews every off the ball incident during a game. They review was is deemed necessary If you get an elbow on the floor and you don’t take measures to make sure the referees comes back to review it and ask for help from VAR, then it’s on you. How many people saw the Son elbow of Holding during the game?… in real time? Holding got up like the choir boy that he has and did the English stoic pride… Read more »

Chris

Only just realised the FA Cup finalists see the same as the league cup finalists.

That hasn’t happened since we did the double over Sheff Weds in 93 I think.

TR7

In the summer many people were calling this donkey Lukaku a world class striker.

Chris

Liverpool haven’t made the most of their early dominance and the game looks to be finally poised now.

This is Chelsea’s third FA cup final in a row. Not sure if any other team has lost 3 in a row?

I get the feeling they are going to snatch this one today.

G

Dissenter he shouldn’t have to because the ref obviously missed it so why didn’t var get involved

Rich

Reports Arsenal have found an agreement with Bologna for Aaron Hickey for between €20-€25 million (£17-£21million)

We definitely need another left back, would have preferred one with more experience, ideally PL experience

Tomiyasu has taken to the PL like a duck to water, hopefully this lad has a similar adaptation, because with Tierney’s injuries, we’ll need him too

G

You couldn’t make it up.. ex Tottenham Tim sherwood saying soft penalty and some gooners on le grove saying it wasn’t

DivineSherlock

I see no lie with this post , I am shocked that people still dont think there is bias and rank incompetence in UK referees , PGMOL and FA and PL ruining the games for more views and controversy .

salparadisenyc

Stuttgart staying up with a 93 min goal and with it any options for Mavropanos other than likely sell for 1/15h his value. Horrific piece of biz from Edu on that one.

TR7

Diaz is a bit like Luis Suarez

G

WTF u on about, why was var introduced, Son throws an elbow, ref misses it so var should get involved.. it’s not rocket science mate

Chris

Yeah I’m glad Spurs didn’t get Diaz.

Dissenters

Liverpool not looking so quadruple right now

When all is as and done, the may end up with only the league cup this season
I would love to see Jamie Carragher’s face when that happens